Reviews
Film round-Up
Jeremy Clarke
Safe House (cert 15; 114 mins) is a routine
thriller based around the concept of a safe house where rogue
undercover agents can come in from the cold. Anchored by a towering
Denzel Washington and carried by the rising star Ryan Reynolds
(Buried), it ‘s certainly never boring.
Sleazy and violent, Rampart (cert 15; 108 mins)
benefits no end from its co-scripting by the legendary crime writer
James Ellroy. The director Oren Moverman re-uses Woody Harrelson,
his star from The Messenger, in a compelling drama about an
out-of-order cop unable to se the errors of his ways.
In Dangerous Method (cert 15; 99 mins, right) ,
David Cronenberg casts Keira Knightly as a patient of Jung’s (a
terrific Michael Fassbender) who embarks on a very physical affair
with him. A solid enough drama, its worth seeing but not one of
Cronenberg’s best. Bruno Dumont’s Hadewijch (cert 12a; 105 mins) is
a bizarre and sometimes hard to follow meditation on Catholic and
Muslim spirituality. For instance, it’s hard to tell whether the
nun protagonist is or is not involved in the final reel’s bomb
explosion.
No such confusion dogs The Muppets (cert U; 109
mins), a noughties take on the TV Show which, once you get through
the first ten plodding minutes, is patchy, but screamingly funny in
parts. Chris Cooper makes a terrific villain and there are numerous
enjoyable star cameos (watch out for Emily Blunt as Miss Piggy’s
Parisian Vogue receptionist). Big Miracle (cert PG; 106 mins),
based on a story concerning Greenpeace and whales stranded in
Alaska, is predictable family fodder. Australian drama Red Dog
(cert PG; 92 mins), based on a Louis de Bernières novel, is more
grown up, a clever tale of a dog making his way in an Australian
mining town – the ultimate shaggy dog story and a great excuse for
a clutch of compelling character sketches.
The 1930s desert epic Black Gold (cert 12a; 130
mins) concerns rival Arab leaders, one of whose two sons is
kidnapped by the other, and the effect of Western oil companies on
the country. Intrigue, rivalry and war, with a cast of thousands.
Jeremy Clarke
Safe House (cert 15; 114 mins) is a routine
thriller based around the concept of a safe house where rogue
undercover agents can come in from the cold. Anchored by a towering
Denzel Washington and carried by the rising star Ryan Reynolds
(Buried), it ‘s certainly never boring.
Sleazy and violent, Rampart (cert 15; 108 mins)
benefits no end from its co-scripting by the legendary crime writer
James Ellroy. The director Oren Moverman re-uses Woody Harrelson,
his star from The Messenger, in a compelling drama about
an out-of-order cop unable to se the errors of his ways.
In Dangerous Method
(cert 15; 99 mins, right) , David Cronenberg casts Keira Knightly
as a patient of Jung’s (a terrific Michael Fassbender) who embarks
on a very physical affair with him. A solid enough drama, its worth
seeing but not one of Cronenberg’s best. Bruno Dumont’s
Hadewijch (cert 12a; 105 mins) is a bizarre and
sometimes hard to follow meditation on Catholic and Muslim
spirituality. For instance, it’s hard to tell whether the nun
protagonist is or is not involved in the final reel’s bomb
explosion.
No such confusion dogs The Muppets (cert U; 109
mins), a noughties take on the TV show which, once you get through
the first ten plodding minutes, is patchy, but screamingly funny in
parts. Chris Cooper makes a terrific villain and there are numerous
enjoyable star cameos (watch out for Emily Blunt as Miss Piggy’s
Parisian Vogue receptionist). Big Miracle (cert
PG; 106 mins), based on a story concerning Greenpeace and whales
stranded in Alaska, is predictable family fodder. Australian drama
Red Dog (cert PG; 92 mins), based on a Louis de
Bernières novel, is more grown up, a clever tale of a dog making
his way in an Australian mining town – the ultimate shaggy dog
story and a great excuse for a clutch of compelling character
sketches.
The 1930s desert epic Black Gold (cert 12a; 130
mins) concerns rival Arab leaders, one of whose two sons is
kidnapped by the other, and the effect of Western oil companies on
the country. Intrigue, rivalry and war, with a cast of
thousands.
